Agricultural growers such as commercial suppliers and home gardeners produce a wide variety of cultivated crops and plants. Often these suppliers or gardeners raise plants from seeds. Soil or another growing medium may be supplemented with additional water, fertilizers, pesticides, agents for controlling pH, and the like, to promote seed germination. This process is labor-intensive and time-consuming, which adds costs to commercial operations and detracts from the enjoyment of gardening for recreational gardeners, especially those advanced in age or physically limited.
Some growers raise cultivated plants from seeds in pots or other small containers, in some cases in greenhouses. Such a grower often transplants the seedling plant to the ground after an initial period in the container. This process is also labor-intensive and time-consuming.
In recent years, roll-out flower gardens have been developed that reduce part of the painstaking work required to grow a home garden. The roll-out gardens may consist of seeds within a nutrient rich substrate. These roll out gardens reduce part of the labor associated with growing flower gardens, but they are bulky and awkward to use, store, and transport.
In addition, many areas in which plants are grown lack optimal growing conditions. Lack of moisture, sunlight, nutrients, etc. may hinder seed germination and plant growth. Diseases, weeds, insects, animals (e.g., that scavenge seeds shortly after planting), etc. may cause similar effects. Further, many farmers in suboptimal growing areas lack general planting, cultivation, and harvesting knowledge needed to successfully grow food crops. The inability to grow and cultivate plants, especially staple crops (for example, corn, rice, sorghum, soybeans, wheat, etc.), can have a devastating effect on the health and well-being of people living in these areas. Furthermore, the high cost and time-consuming procedures associated with seed production, handling, and distribution may limit the availability of seeds in these areas. In addition, the cultivation of plants by conventional methods often has adverse environmental effects (e.g., pollution from fertilizer, pesticide, etc.; use of excessive resources).
Accordingly, there is a need for agricultural systems and methods that facilitate successful handling, distribution, and planting of seeds, and that promote and improve cultivation and yield of plants that grow from the seeds. In this regard, it would be useful to provide simplified solutions to issues of moisture, nutrients, pests, weeds, disease, etc. It would also be useful to provide methods and systems of cultivating plants that conserve resources and limit adverse environmental effects. It would also be useful to increase the shelf life of seeds, that is, the length of time seeds can remain healthy prior to planting. In this regard, it will be noted that prior art methods of coating or pelletizing seeds (e.g., to provide seed pellets or coated seeds of uniform size to facilitate mechanized planting) impose stresses on the seeds that hinder germination. Specifically, in such methods, the medium, additives, etc. that are contained with the seed in the coating or pellet are adhered to the seed. As a result of this adhesion, first, the seed may not be able to receive sufficient moisture and oxygen from the environment, and, second, the seed may be harmed by being in such close proximity to strong additives (e.g., fertilizers, pesticides).